Here are some misc. notes on some observations I made while watching a couple of games for Team USA during their Stars/Stripes Prospect Classic. I'm starting with the collegians since I saw most of the high school players at Perfect Game events this summer.

Trae Turner: Good approach for his speed skill-set. Has somewhat of a slap and dash approach, and yet is still aggressive with some power potential. Lean athletic build with room for added strength but his game will always be defined by his speed. Had a huge freshman year for NC State leading the nation in stolen bases.

Ryne Stanek: Easy, electric arm that creates mid-90s heat with the ability to peak 96-98. Great size and athletic proportions. Somewhat of a chucker with some effort. Has a short, sharp breaking ball that looks and acts like both a curve and a slider at times. He's able to effectively bury his breaking ball in the dirt as a swing-and-miss pitch that hitters have no chance to hit, and it comes out of his hand so hard that it's difficult to lay off with 2 strikes. For as easy and his arm strength is, I've seen him better.

Jake Reed: Good size and proportions. Broad shoulders with a slender, tapered build. Really low funky ¾ delivery, almost side-arm, creates great deception but limits upside and eventual role. Fastball has some dip thrown in the upper-80s.

D.J. Peterson: Watching him play the first thing I thought was “he'll be a big leaguer some day.” Obviously how great of an impact he makes depends on how well he makes adjustments as he moves up. Powerful build with very good strength. Patient eye with very good bat speed. Hits the ball consistently hard. Very exciting power potential. I think he's a 1B down the road.

Michael Conforto: Well put together, strong build with powerful left-handed swing. Put up good numbers as a freshman and should continue to improve at Oregon State.

Adam Frazier: Left-handed hitter with smaller stature. Reminds me of Nolan Fontana with similar all-around approach and upside. I don't think there's much power at the next level, and his value will come in his ability to get on base, put ball in play and play solid defense.

Jose Trevino: Shorter athlete. Quick bat can put a charge in the ball. Hit ground-rule 2-run double and grand slam in one game, proving he can turn on high velocity fastballs. Upside limited due to stature, but has offensive promise. Not sure on future position. Can pitch, showed low ¾, live arm, has some feel for spin on curveball. Good change, same arm action as fastball on pitch.

Marco Gonzales: Nice approach and smooth swing as LH hitter. Good athlete very similar to Sean Gilmartin in almost every way. Very smooth mechanics, easy, low effort, repeatable delivery. Good command and off-speed stuff. Not overpowering, but knows how to pitch.

Kris Bryant: Very good size and strength to his frame. Swing, approach and overall upside remind me of Phil Nevin. Will continue to add strength. Likely that he always strikes out a lot with his aggressive approach and big swing, but he has power to all fields. Exciting slugger.

Zack Godley: LHP from Tennessee. Good size, strong lower half, well proportioned. Sinking FB. Has good off-speed pitches but throws them too much. Doesn't have dominant stuff so he needs to change speeds, mix it up for success.

Michael Lorenzen: I still think he profiles very well to Drew Stubbs. Tall, long-limbed athlete with promising tools. Has cannon in OF with great range, arm also allows him to close for Titans. Has power potential as well, but I'm not sold on his ability to make adjustments to hit at next level. High character guy, hard worker.

David Berg: Side-arm to submarine delivery. Short-arm, very unique. Hardly extends. Rises up on delivery. Hard to pick up ball out of hand, especially for RH hitters. Good movement product of arm angle. HS hitters John Sternagel, Ryan Boldt and Nico Giarratino had no chance as he struck out the side. Specialist at next level.

High School Players:

Reese McGuire: One of the most polished defensive catchers from the high school ranks that I've ever seen. So good at blocking balls with an incredibly quick, accurate and strong release. Threw one ball to second from his knees as it was his only chance to get the runner, and while the runner was safe, he made the play closer than it should have been given the runner's jump off the pitcher. Has promise at the plate as well with a solid line drive approach as a left-handed hitter.

Garrett Williams: I saw Williams pitch at the PG National in mid-June, and was impressed with his overall athletic ability and presence in the batter's box for Team USA. He has good bat speed with a smooth LH swing. He passes the eye test athletically with sloped shoulders and long, lean limbs. He also made a really nice play in the outfield, ranging back to the warning track to make a fine running over the should catch.

Carson Sands: 2014 grad. Really good size, low waist with a strong lower half. Overthrowing in the game I saw him, but he has a live arm with live stuff and some deception out of the hand. That makes his fastball, which currently sits around 90 mph, look like it explodes out of the hand. His breaking ball needs to be tighten up but it too has promise. He got hit around, but he's a name to watch.

Ian Clarkin: Low-90s fastball, easy arm strength, repeatable delivery with sound mechanics. Smooth. Sharp low-70s curve as well with a good pickoff move. Overall feel for the game and 3-pitch repertoire somewhat reminiscent of Max Fried, although he doesn't have the same stature.

Dominic Taccolini: Extra large framed RHP. Max effort delivery with pronounced head snap. Good off-speed stuff as well as aggressive approach, but mechanics need work.

Keegan Thompson: Strong lower half, high waist, thick proportions. Broad shoulders, aggressive with fastball. Short-breaking curve. Good athlete. Has some projection left with current build/strength. Some deception out of hand. Good presence on mound, competes. Could be 2-way guy in college, RHP as a pro prospect.

Stephen Gonsalves: Long limbs, neck, easy low-90s velo. Works quickly. Nice sweeping curveball. Struck out 2 polished college hitters in the game I saw (Michael Lorenzen and Michael Conforto). I really like his upside, easy to envision him 92-95 in the next 1-2 years.

Cameron Varga: 2014 grad. Appears to have live arm with “rising” fastball. Very promising physical stature, although wasn't as sharp overall during summer as he has been in past. Sharp breaking ball and live arm, although some effort to delivery.

William Abreu: Really good looking athlete, quick bat. Player to watch with easy parallels to Albert Almora. Not quite that dynamic of an overall athlete, but has an exciting blend of power and speed. LH hitter with good bat speed and pull power.

Connor Heady: Lean, flat chested build, long and lean with plenty of room for added strength. Similar size to Gavin Cecchini at this time last year. Good presence in batter's box and actions at shortstop. I like his upside.

Andy McGuire: Somewhat similar profile to Heady/Cecchini but with more present strength. Patient approach, easy swing. Game looks to come easy to him.

Riley Unroe: Hard not to admire the way he plays the game. Very hard worker, high energy/aggressive. That and smaller yet well put together frame reminds me of Brian Giles. Switch hitter that is a tough out, can sting the ball.

Anfernee Grier: Very good upside. Quick-twitch athlete that has better upside at second base with physical and tools similarities to Brandon Phillips.

Ryan Boldt: Very good size. He clearly has added strength over the last year since when I saw him prior to mid-June (last fall at Jupiter and the Kernels championship). Easy speed glides to balls in the outfield and runs bases extremely well. Improving power as LH hitter as he adds more strength, with more to come.

Nick Ciuffo: Showed really nice eye and hung in well in AB against Ryne Stanek, laying off breaking balls in the dirt to work him for a walk. I really liked what I saw from Ciuffo at PG National, PG All-American Classic (where a bunch of these guys played as well). Hard nosed competitor.

Bryson Brigman: 2014 grad. I had never seen him before. Sloped shoulders, very fast speed player. Has room to grow, physically reminded me of Carlos Baerga.

Christian Arroyo: He is what he is, a very sound hitter with good, not great tools but a great approach to the game. Refined hitter, and consistently hits high level talent. Good approach, sound mechanics.

Ronell Coleman: Little bugger. Hangs in there against advanced pitching. Speed guy, needs to add more strength/hope he grows.

Pete Alonso: Exciting power potential. Low waist, sloped shoulders, likely 1B down the road. Good strength, easy raw power. Not overly toolsy, but has a good arm and runs ok. Bat guy that could be a more recognizable name in a couple of years, especially if he plays for the Gators.

Dom Nunez: LH hitter, clean, smooth swing, promising offensive potential, especially for MIF. Probably not a SS down the road, but can play there now, and could handle 2B.

Cavan Biggio: Incredibly impressive at PG National, also impressive here. Obvious hand strength/bat speed and sound overall approach. Not overly imposing physically, but consistently hits the ball hard and knows how to work count to wait for his pitch.

Hunter Green: Tall, long limbs, broad shoulders, Strong lower half, live arm. Works down. I could see him throwing consistently harder than current upper-80s velo, peaking around 90-91 currently. Works quickly, somewhat wild (and somewhat effectively).

John Kilichowski: Tall, projectable LHP. Low ¾ delivery. Easy arm, not overpowering now but could see him adding velo in next 2-3 years. Deception, can locate, perfect profile for Vandy recruit.

Christian Martinek: 2014 grad. Good size/projects. Well proportioned, good current strength. Easy delivery, looks like he's playing catch as ball explodes. Telegraphs breaking ball a little at this point in time. Big upside, keep an eye on.

Logan Shore: RHP prospect but with sloped shoulders and athletic build looks the part of a positional prospect. Didn't see pitch for TUSA, but have in past. Have been impressed before, looking forward to seeing him again.

Nicholas Gordon: Son of Flash. Good arm speed and great athleticism with easy, repeatable arm. Very skinny now but projects really well as dynamic, quick-twitch athlete. Only saw pitch, not play SS/hit (although I have before).edited by pebert on 9/11/2012